Wire-stretcher.



D. H. & L. P. GROVES.

WIRE STRETCHEE APPLICATION FILED DEC- 8, I915.

Patented Dec. 5,1916.

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D. H. & L. P. GROVES.

WIRE STRETCHER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.8, I9l5.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

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. W V 5 W M We a m W H a Z n m M; 1 9 6 A4 u v H 4 4 n 4 DELPHA H. GROVES AND LESTER P. GROVES, 0F TERRA ALTA, WEST VIRGINIA.

WIRE-STRETCHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

Application filed December 8, 1915. Serial No. 65,740.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, DELPHA H. Groves and Lns'rnn P. Gnovns, citizens of the United States, residing at Terra Alta, in the county of Preston and State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in l/Vire-Stretchers; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to wire stretchers, and the primary object of the invention is to. provide a wire stretcher, which includes a pivotally supported spring controlled wire engaging member having a pair of pivoted wire engaging jaws, and a body having wire guiding rollers supported thereby, for guiding the wire during its stretching by the operation of said stretching member, and to provide means for preventing a back action of the wire when the engagement of the wire by the stretching member is released for getting a new bite upon the wire for further stretching the same.

Another object of thisinvention is to provide a wire stretcher including a body, to which body a novel form of post clamp is attached, for'detachably connecting the wire stretcher to a post of a fence, a cross arm of a telephone or telegraph wire post, or analogous structure, and to provide a clamping structure which is adjustable for clamping engagement with postsof various sizes.

With the foregoing and other objects in view this invention consists in such novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters designate like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved wire stretcher showing the stretcher in an operative position in dotted lines, Fig. 2 is a face view of the wire stretcher, Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the wire stretcher, and Fig. 4 is across section through the wire stretcher.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 designates the body plate of the wire 7 and 8 are pivotally mounted in the recesses,

and they have their lower edges angled and corrugated, as is shown at 10 for engaging the wire and clamping it between the rollers and the lower edges of the pawls for preventing backward movement of the wire. Flat springs 11 and 12 are secured to the body plate 1, by metallic plates 14, and they extend downwardly along side of the recesses 2 and 3 and have their lower ends engaging the pawls 7 and 8, respectively, for holding the pawls in position. Handles 15 are secured to'the pawls 7 and 8 and project outwardly therefrom and are provided for manually swinging the pawls to permit of the initiative passing of the wires over the rollers and beneath the under surface of the ends of the pawls, as is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

The wire engaging and stretching structure, which is pivotally connected to the body plate 1 includes a pair of jaws 19 and 20. The jaw 19 is pivotally connected to bosses 21 which extend outwardly from one facev of the body plate, 1. The jaw- 19 has depending cars 22, which are pivotally mounted upon" a pin 23 which extends through the bosses 21'. A. spring 24. is coiled about the pin 23. The spring 24 has. one end secured to the body plate 1, and the other end secured to the jaw 19. as. is shown 7 at 25, for automatically returning the jaw to the position shown in solid lines, in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings, after it has been moved outwardly to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The jaw vl9 has its upper surface cut inclined, as. is shown at 26, and terminating in a corrugated-edge 27 which engages the wireto be stretched, as indicated at 28 in Fig. 3 of the drawings. An arm 29 projects upwardly from the upper face of the main body of the jaW'119Jequidistant of its end, and it has a clamping jaw 20 pivotally connected thereto by a pivot pin 31. The jaw 20 has its inner edge cut inclined or angled as shown at 32 and terminating in a corrugated wire gripping edge 83, which is positioned directly above the edge 27 when the are in a wire engaging position. A. handle 34 is formed upon and extends upwardly from the jaw and is provided for manually operating the jaws 19 and 20 for stretching the wire.

In stretching wire with the improved wire stretcher either of the pawls 7 or 8, or both, are moved outwardly as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and the wire is passed over the corrugated rollers after which the handle 15 is released which allows the flat spring to automatically return the pawls to their normal position, gripping the wire and clamping it between the corrugated ends of the pawls and the corrugated rollers, for holding the wire against accidental movement. The wire is also clamped between the edges 27 and 83 of the jaws 19 and 20, which jaws normally rest so that their edges are slightly spaced from each other as shown in solid lines in Fig. 1. After the wire has been properly placed upon the stretcher, the handle 34 is moved outwardly to the position indicated in Fig. 3, which causes the gripping edge 33 to grip the wire and force it against the corrugated gripping edge 27, after which the entire stretching structure including the handle '34, and the jaws 19 and 20, is moved outwardly and downwardly upon their pivotal support, which is the pin 23, until the limit of their outward movement has been reached. After the limit of the outward movement of the jaws has been reached, the handle 34 is moved inwardly toward the body plate 1 which causes the jaws 19 and 20 to move away from each other and assume the position indicated in dotted lines, in Fig. 1. The handle is then released, and the spring 24 automatically returns the jaws to their normal vertical position for obtaining anew bite upon the wire to be stretched. The pawls 7 and 8 are pivoted to permit the wire to be stretched by the outward movement of the stretching structure, and to prevent the backward movement of the wire, which will eliminate the loss of the stretching action of the stretching structure. A novel clamping structure is provided for clamping the wire stretcher to a post, crossarms, or analogous structure, and this clamping structure includes a plate 40 which is attached to the body plate 1 below the lower edges of the recesses 2 and 3. The plate 40 has plates 41 and 42 hingedly connected thereto, as is shown at 48. A plurality of spurs 44 are secured to the inner faces of the plates 40, 41 and 42 and are provided for impression into the post upon which the wire stretcher is to be clamped. A spur 45 is also secured to thebody plate 1. The plate 41, has a bracket 46 secured to its outer surface, to which bracket, a lever 47 is pivotally connected. The lever 47 has a depending lug 48 formed thereon to which a clevis 49 is pivotally connected. A chain 50 is connected to the clevis 49, and is adapted for connection with a hook 51 which is carried by the hinged plate 42. In attaching the wire stretcher to a post, the stretcher body is placed so that it will abut one side of the post and the spike 45 and the spike 44 carried by the plate 40 are driven into the post after which the plates 41 and 42 are moved so that they will lie in engagement with or along side of the side of the post at right angles to the side of the post against which the body plate 1 is placed. T he chain 50 is then connected to the hook 51 and the lever 47 moved into the position as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, which 'ill move the plates 41 and 42 inwardly against the sides of the post and sink the prongs 44 into the post, owing to the fact that the lug 48 is disposed upwardly toward the free end of the lever from its pivotal point 47. The body plate 1 has a plurality of metallic plates 60 attached thereto, the edges of which plates are flared outwardly for forming guides 61 which regulate the lateral movement of the wire and properly guide it to the corrugated rollers 4 and 5.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings the advantages of construction and of the method of operation of the improved wire stretcher will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains and, while in the foregoing description, the principle of the operation of this invention has been described together with various features of construction, it is to be understood that certain minor features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be altered to suit practi- I cal conditions provided such alterations are comprehended within the scope of what is claimed.

What is claimed is 1. In a wire stretcher structure, the combination, of a body plate havinga pair of oppositely disposed recesses cut in its side edges, wire stretching means carried by said body plate, corrugated wire guiding rollers rotatably supported in said recesses for guiding the wire during stretching, automatic acting means for clamping the wire in engagement with said rollers, said clamping means being constructed to permit astretching movement and prevent a back or loosening movement of the wire, and metallic plates secured to said body plate and having their edges flared for guiding wire to said rollers.

2. In a wire stretcher structure, the combination, of a body plate having a pair of oppositely disposed recesses cut in its side edges, wire stretching means carried by said body plate, corrugated wire guiding rollers rotatably supported in said recesses for guiding the wire during stretching, a pair of pawls pivotally connected to said body plate and positioned within said recesses, said pawls having their lower edges angled and corrugated for clamping the wire in engagement with said rollers, flat springs carried by said body plate and engaging said pawls for holding said pawls in a wire clamping position, said springs adapted to permit of a stretching movement and prevent a back or loosening movement of the wire when passing over said corrugated rollers.

3. In a wire stretcher structure, the combination, of a body plate having a pair of oppositely disposed recesses cut in its side edges, wire stretching means carried by said body plate, corrugated wire guiding rollers rotatably supported in said recesses for guiding the wire during stretching, a pair of pawls pivotally connected to said body plate and positioned within said recesses, said pawls having their lower edges angled and corrugated for clamping the wire in engagement with said rollers, fiat springs carried by said body plate and engaging said pawls for holdin said pawls in a wire clamping position, said springs adapted to'permit of a stretching movement and prevent a back or loosening, movement of the wire when passing over the corrugated rollers, handles secured to and extending outwardly from the upper ends of said pawls for permitting of the manual pivotal movement of the pawls against the tension of said spring for feeding wire through the stretcher structure.

4:. In a wire stretcher structure, the combination, of a body plate having a pair of oppositely disposed recesses cut in its'side edges, wire stretching means carried by said body plate, corrugated wire guiding rollers rotatably supported in said recesses for guiding the wire during stretching, a pair of pawls pivotally connected to said body plate and positioned within said recesses, said pawls having their lower edges angled and corrugated for clamping wire in engagement with said rollers, flat springs carried by said body plate and engaging said pawls for holding said pawls in a wire clamping position, said springs adapted to permit of a stretching movement and prevent a back or loosening movement of the wire when passing over the corrugated rollers, handles secured to and extending outwardly from the upper ends of said pawls for permitting of the manual pivotal movement of the pawls against the tension of said spring for feeding wire through the stretcher structure, and metallic plates secured to said body plate and having their edges flared for guiding wire to said rollers.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

DELPHA H. GROVES. LESTER P. GROVES.

Witnesses:

I. G. GALE, C. E. TREMBLY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents,

Washington, D. G. 

